


Business Over Ramen

by Aggression



Series: Zine Pieces [1]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: Gen, Negotiations, Politics, Zine piece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 21:19:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15590943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aggression/pseuds/Aggression
Summary: A ninja-assassin walks into a bar. There's no punchline, but business talk instead.





	Business Over Ramen

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This was originally posted as part of the Smokescreen: An Akali PDF Zine, which is a free zine celebrating the Akali rework. The organizers are also taking donations, with a reward being a set of Akali icons based on all of her skins, to support Girls on the Run charity which inspires fitness and confidence in young girls. Please take a look at the tumblr post to learn more! Donations are being collected until August 14, 2018.

Akali walks into town late into the evening. Locals glance over her, appraising her appearance. She is not stopped on her way to the inn, passing whatever judgments that had been cast upon her.

_I am Ionian born and Ionian loyal. You need not fear me if you’re of this land._ She does not say it. Her actions shall speak for her.

The inn’s small, built into the trunk of a massive, ancient tree of white wood, brimming with life and magic. Birds flutter within the tree’s canopy as the sun falls. The orange sky sets the branches ablaze with warm light. It is inviting, an appealing sight that would make many smile from its beauty.

Akali finds the view relaxing, but her expression remains neutral.

Firelight spills from the open doorway. She steps inside, eyes quickly scanning the room. Ten travelers of human appearance. She guesses that there are three separate parties, based on how they are seated. _This must be the most business this place has seen all year._

There is the staff. An older man holds keep behind the bar. A younger woman serves a party of three. There is the sound and the smell of an active kitchen. Akali’s stomach grumbles.

There are two vastayans secluded at a corner table, both bird-like, feathers gleaming with a healthy shine in the lowlight. The woman’s dark eyes meet hers, and the vastayan holds her gaze before she nods her head towards Akali.

_Recognition? Polite habit?_

Akali prepares to ignore the gesture, when the man turns to face her and speaks up. “Hey! Care to join us?”

Akali’s reputation is a trail of bodies behind her. She does not boast of the kills, does not advertise her skills, but style and the quality of her executions connect the dots of her travels. Though she is no longer one of the Kinkou, the training remains, and the prowess of those trained in the ways of the Fist of Shadow remains legendary.

Both vastayans stare at her, gazes hardened with a confidence few possess. They know who she is. Akali will oblige them.

First, however, she orders food.

 

***

 

The ramen steams before her. The scent of broth fills her nose, and she takes a moment to enjoy just the smell of it before taking the first bite. Her table partners wait, sitting across from her. The man had changed seats when she joined them. The woman’s face is bored as she watches the room. The man grins at her.

_He probably understands that great ramen deserves appreciation._ The remains of their supper are pushed to one side of the table. The serving girl is still busy with the other parties, running between the tables as the guests become rowdy from drink.

Akali takes her first bite, purposefully obnoxious as she slurps up noodles. The man’s grin widens; the woman’s tall ears twitch. Akali swallows. “So are we dealing with small talk or getting straight to whatever your point is in bothering me?”

“Well, I, for one, think we should start with proper introductions, even if Xayah here would prefer to brood and be a curious mystery.

“So!” He claps his hands together, whole body lifting in over-animated action. “As I said: this lovely beauty is Xayah, and I’m Rakan. We are renowned battle-dancers of the Lhotlan tribe.”

Akali can only interpret Xayah’s tone as accusatory. “And you’re Akali of the Kinkou Order.”

“Formerly.”

“Formerly?” Xayah’s expression unsours for a moment, a brief flicker of surprise apparent.

Akali slurps another mouthful of noodles, and then another. She throws a piece of pork in her mouth and huffs. “Yes, formerly, though no one from the Kinkou seems to be quick to correct anyone on this misconception. Shen is slow to act, and so the Order does nothing of great importance. I’m not going to waste my time sitting on my hands when Ionia’s enemies still walk her shores.”

Rakan glances down to Xayah, hesitance plain on his face. “This conversation is going to be longer than we expected isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Suddenly, he stands with a flourish, but he avoids jarring the table. The action still causes for Akali to reach for her kunai on instinct, and she knows that Xayah notices the threat. She sheathes the dagger. Rakan quickly steps away from them, his voice playful as he calls over his shoulder. “I’m going to have some fun then, _miella._ You know politicking isn’t for me.”

Xayah’s sigh is one of pure exasperation. She rolls her eyes, and it is the most energy Akali has seen from the woman so far. There is a touch of adoration in the way she smiles at Rakan’s back.

And then her expression falls, not to boredom as before, but one closed and cut-off. Time for business. Akali continues to eat and waits for the vastayan to speak her piece.

“I don’t like you humans. You all use magic carelessly, and disrespect your people show of the land is going to lead us all to ruin. You're right. The Kinkou are useless, and the Order of Shadow that have risen from them is a blight I’m going to eliminate -”

“I will do it first.” Akali appraises Xayah as she cuts the vastayan off, staring over her bowl of noodles. The vastayan glares, and then grins in a way no way comparable to Rakan’s fashion. Where his had been teasing and fun, the promise of entertaining trouble, Xayah’s is all teeth and a promise of danger. The woman pulls a feather out of her cloak, playing with it idly within her hands.

“Maybe. I do not have time to squabble over who will get the right to the final blow to that problem. I have far too much to worry about that a problem of semantics such as that. Like how you’re going to ruin weeks of planning with your next mark.”

_Of course she knows about that._ “Why do I care if I mess up your plans?”

“What do you know about Lehtin?”

Akali sets her bowl down. She taps her chopsticks against the table, expression neutral as she contemplates her response. _She probably already knows what I know._ “He’s selling information to the Noxian government.”

“Do you know how he’s getting this information?”

It wounds her pride, but in that moment Akali realizes her silence has told Xayah all she needs to know. Xayah frowns, and with a quick motion the feather is clutched soundly between two of her fingertips before Xayah slams it into the wood of the table, stabbing deep as if it was a blade. The feather has _become_ a blade.

“Let me ask this first - why have you killed everyone that you have? There’s a history of death that ensues after your departure from the Kinkou Order. You may be rogue, but have you gone senseless?”

“I think it should be obvious that they were all threats to the general peace and overall state of Ionia. The Kinkou Order would not allow me the right to defend my home, and now I will not allow anyone to prevent me from defending it any longer.” Akali crosses her arms, chin tilted forward in a challenge.

There is another silence. Out of the corner of her eye Akali can see Rakan dancing around the tables, flittering between the three parties as they laugh and encourage his antics. The serving girl comes by with another round and she’s momentarily swept up by the vastayan. He reaches for the tray, balancing it on one hand as he hops around and delivers full mugs to his audience. The girl is flustered, unsure of what to do until Rakan returns to her with the empty tray.

Instead of handing the tray back to her and letting her retreat to the bar, he sets the tray on a table and sweeps her into a small space between the tables and the bar. At first she is nervous, but the girl soon begins to laugh with the rest of them as Rakan leads her in a complicated dance routine. Xayah also watches, face impassive.

After another moment Xayah reaches out, plucking the feather-dagger from the table. It seems to melt in her hands, returning to a soft, pliable state. “He has a ring of informants, Akali, and I still have two more to confirm the identities of before I can even begin to plan weeding it out fully. If you kill him now, you won’t be stopping the flow of information to Noxus, just one trickle of it.

“I generally don’t like working with humans. You’re oath-breakers, and your organizations suffering from the lack of convictions that made you leave the Kinkou Order. However, leave this mark alone until I complete my work and I may be open to working together at a later date.”

“And why should I care for that?”

“Because the Kinkou gave you the skills to be the greatest assassin in this land… in technical skill. Get in, kill your mark, get out. Clean and efficient. They probably think that is a way of living that does not conflict with whatever that absurd concept of balance they hold dear is. They did not teach you how to make a _statement_ \- an act that is one with pure political convictions.

“Like Rakan said when he left, we’re here to talk politics now. Noxus knows you can kill off their agents one by one, but they’re a machine that will throw more fodder your way without a second glance. If you suddenly came in and killed a whole ring of informants in one fell swoop...” Xayah smiles as she suggests her plan, a wicked glint in her eyes, “ _then_ they would truly take notice of you.”

Rakan is dancing on a table now, and the bartender is waving at him, seeking to bring the vastayan down though he always manages to hop away from grasping hands.

Xayah says she has a hate for humans, but briefly, Akali wonders if it’s merely a frustration. Xayah does not begrudge her partner for dancing amongst the other travelers; she is comfortable to sit in the human-run inn. _Our governments and orders in-fight while Noxus waits for another chance to steal everything we hold dear._

Akali leans back into her chair, wiggling as she settles herself into a comfortable position. She waves the serving girl over, ordering their table their own round of drinks. “I think this is something I could be interested in.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr!


End file.
